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Melbourne suburban club defies UK juggernaut on name

Alana Schetzer

A suburban soccer club is preparing a David and Goliath-style battle against global superpower, Manchester City, over the right to keep its name.

South Kingsville's Melbourne City Football Club has taken steps to protect its name against the new owners of A-League club Melbourne Heart, who have mooted changing the club's name to Melbourne City Football Club.

Heart was recently acquired for $12 million by Manchester City, which is owned by Abu Dhabi royal and billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. A consortium led by New Zealand entrepreneur and Melbourne Storm owner Bart Campbell was also part of the deal.

The new owners have broached changing the team's name, colours and logo but have not officially released any details. Following the takeover announcement, Football Federation Australia said it was prepared to discuss the idea of rebranding the club.

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Those plans are now under way, with a company associated with Heart and its new owners recently applying to register a trademark for ''Melbourne City Football Club''. Another related company controls the domain name, MelbourneCityFC.com.au.

But the tiny suburban soccer team - which plays in the Football Federation of Victoria's State League fourth division - is now gearing up to contest the claim.

Melbourne City Football Club was registered as an incorporated association in Victoria in 2005 but claims to have been established in 1991. It fields teams in seniors, reserves and juniors.

In a bid to protect its brand, the local club has also made applications to trademark its name with the Australian government's intellectual property agency.

Club spokesman Claudio Paz said the committee had begun talks with Manchester City's management about the naming conflict. He declined to confirm or deny the prospect of legal action being launched, however sources told Fairfax Media that a legal battle was being considered.

''At this point, it's too early to tell what could happen,'' Mr Paz said. ''I don't think Manchester will do anything without any consensus from us. It's a matter of waiting.''

Melbourne Heart did not respond to a request for comment.

The club has suffered its worst season since it entered the A-League in 2009.

It failed to win any games in the first 14 rounds, which led to the departure of coach John Aloisi in December.